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Google’s New Strategy In Hitting Next Billion Internet Users

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The tech press is gossiping about Google’s new strategy in hitting next billion users, by opening an engineering hub in Singapore. That’s not all. The company also announced it acquired the startup Pie, which makes a mobile workplace chat app similar to Slack.

Although many people don’t think of this, we take the internet for granted. With smartphones giving us quick access to the information that we either need or want to view, we forget that this technology has literally been with us since the early 2000’s. A lot of us may get upset when we lose internet connection, but the true reality of it all is that while we’re busy surfing the web and getting upset when a YouTube video clocks out, people across the world are for the first time using the internet.

A report from the UN says that 300 Million people stepped into the online world for the first time last year which made 2015 the year that the most people were using the internet. For the many people who fall in that large sum of new users, accessing the internet isn’t as easy as one may think. People that live in countries like India, Indonesia, and the Philippines have a much more difficult time trying to gain access to sites due to poor service.

In addition for many first time internet users their only source for retrieving internet is through a budget smartphone and paying to connect cost a lot of money. To add insult to injury, loading websites on these budget phones isn’t nearly as quick as ours, taking long minutes to load.

Now that we’ve pictured that in our heads, let’s switch to the actual news. Google wants to try and help out and fix these issues by constructing an engineering team, so they can get closer to the next billion internet users that will soon come online.

However, the project has already started with the acquihire of Pie.co.

Founded in 2013, Pie is a Singapore-based startup providing tools for work specializing in messaging software that employees use at the office. Their idea is to make work much more fun and engaging along with enhanced communication at work. Pie believes that ‘all software should be fun, fast, and easy to use.’ The team, which comprises nine members, is led by founder and CEO Thijs Jacobs.

As a result of the deal, Pie will cease its operations on March 2, after which it will fully integrate with Google. Also, the acquisition was undisclosed – both Pie founder and CEO Pieter Walraven and Google declined to comment on the price of the deal.

This is not where the story ends. In conjunction with this deal, Google has also committed to help train developers. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is visiting the company in Mountain View, and Google has offered support in helping to train up a generation of software developers. The target is 100,000 Indonesian developers by 2020.

Google notes that its target will be reached using a three-step approach.

Firstly, it will partner with universities to reach senior year computer science students, offering them a full semester curriculum focussed on creating Android apps.

Secondly, Google’s Udacity courses will be translated into Bahasa Indonesia. These courses are free and can be taken anywhere, from any device. Translating these courses in to a local language will make it easier for the country’s aspiring developers to get going with building their app ideas. Or, at least, that’s Google’s hope.

Finally, Google plans to hold Developer Study Jams. They’ll host these intensive study groups across five cities: Bandung, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

To sum up, this is the latest from the technology company as it continues on its mission to standardize information from all over the world and making it both universally available and helpful.

Image Source: slashgear.com.

SMS Support and Multiple Accounts On Facebook Messenger? Checked!

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Rumor has it Facebook is about to introduce new features to Messenger and we can hardly wait to try them!

Did anyone say they would love to have access to SMS support and multiple accounts on Facebook Messenger? Checked! It seems like Facebook is reading your mind. The giant company is testing, as we speak, both of these features.

SMS support used to be part of Facebook Messenger until the social media site removed it back in November 2013 because not a lot of people were using it. Another reason why SMS text support was dropped from the platform was that, at the time, Facebook wanted its users to fully adopt its messaging platform. Now, it seems that the company has changed its mind about it especially since it has become a standard for other messaging apps like WhatsApp.

According to The Android Police, some users were recently seeing a new SMS Settings pane that allowed them to use Messenger as an SMS client. When texting a friend in Messenger with the option enabled, the prompt in the text input box would read ‘Write an SMS message.’ The messages sent as SMS texts would then appear as purple bubbles, instead of Messenger’s usual blue, the blog also said.

Some users were seeing a new SMS Settings pane.

Some users were seeing a new SMS Settings pane. The message sent as SMS would then appear as purple bubbles.

The company confirmed about the test which is currently available to only a small number of Android users in USA. A Facebook spokesperson declared:

It’s a really simple way to get, see, and respond to all your SMS messages in just one app.

As if this news wouldn’t be enough, SMS support is not the only brand new change coming to Messenger. Facebook has also announced support for multiple accounts in the app for Android users. The new multiple accounts feature is likely targeted at users who share their devices within the family or friends. This addition will mean that multiple people can log in to Messenger from a single device.

On that note, Messenger for Android has added a new section called ‘Accounts,’ which lets you add and remove accounts on the app. These can also be password-protected so only the account holder can read their messages. Others will only see notifications that a message has been received and not it’s content. Unlike the SMS option, this feature is available around the world.

Regarding the second attribute for Android users, Facebook confirmed the rumors, pointing out the fact that millions of people share phones with their family and friends and until now there hasn’t been an easy way for these people to access their individual Messenger accounts from shared devices.

Even though SMS is still one of the default ways people communicate, Facebook’s only option to siphon value from those messages is to try and route users through its own service. From the looks of it, if it makes its way to a wider audience, these features would mark a significant and aggressive push from Facebook to eclipse SMS and long-time US rival iMessage.

Image Sources: turner.com; aolcdn.com.

Vaio’S Second Smartphone Was Launched And It’s A Windows Phone

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Light, sleek, stylish.

Some fresh, out of the box news for those of you who are interested in gadgets: Vaio’s second smartphone was launched and it’s a Windows phone. It’s called the VAIO Phone Biz and it sure looks prettier than its name.

VAIO is a name that people usually associate with Sony, and with premium laptops. However, as of 2014, VAIO is no longer a Sony brand: it was sold to a Japanese investment firm, though Sony still retains a 5% stake in the company. Besides smartphones, the new VAIO continues to make and sell laptops, currently only in the US, Japan, and Brazil.

VAIO and Windows Phone – this sounds like the perfect match. The two embattled brands are fighting to remain relevant in saturated tech markets. A couple of years ago, Windows Phone tried to make a powerful impression with vibrant colors, sharp contours and unusual palettes. After that, things got a little slow.

Now, Windows Phone is suddenly up again and Japanese phone makers are generally keeping colors a little bit more muted, while moving to classier-looking materials. Unlike the plastic build of the Lumia 950, and 950 XL, the Vaio Phone Biz comes with a silver-finished aluminum build. It features a 13-megapixel rear-camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing sensor. It comes with 3GB RAM and 16GB internal memory, which can be expanded via microSD slot.

The Vaio Phone Biz supports Windows 10’s Continuum feature. For those of you who don’t know, Continuum is the name Microsoft has given to Windows 10’s unique ability to mold to the platform on which it’s running. Put simply, Continuum will enable its customers to turn their smartphone into a PC.

The sleek-looking device is launching in Japan in April at a cost of ¥50,000, which is about $400,but  there’s no word on if or when it will become available further afield.

In a poll held by Trusted Reviews, people were asked if they would be tempted to buy a Windows Phone. Here are the results so far:

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Still, according to the release plans, American techies who have a Vaio laptop and would like to get a matching phone will have to wait. Unfortunately, OEM did not specify when or if the Phone Biz will be available to U.S. clients, or other markets outside Japan.

What is for certain, is that Microsoft could face some serious competition from the sleek, newly Vaio Phone Biz.

Image Sources: wmpoweruser.com; vox-cdn.com.

Youtube Is About To Go 360° On Live Video Streaming

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Capture from a 360° video of Green Island, Taiwan.

              Capture from a 360° video of Green Island, Taiwan.

The tech nerds will definitely want to hear about this – Youtube is about to go 360° on live video streaming.

The big company is reportedly planning to add support for 360-degree live-streamed video. Sources say that YouTube has been meeting with camera manufacturers with the intention of developing a way to live stream 360-degree videos. YouTube itself refused to comment on the report, and no timeline has reportedly been set for launch, but the company could be helping to set up specifications with camera manufacturers that would let people stream live 360-degree videos from 360-degree cameras as they currently do from regular cameras.

The Youtube staff has been interested in this brand-new idea since last March, a few months before Google introduced 360-degree support for Cardboard, and before Facebook introduced 360-degree videos.

Earlier this week Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that ‘it’s still incredibly early innings for virtual reality as a platform’ and that Google Cardboard – its low-cost VR headset – was “just the first step’. In January, Google was reported to have set up a dedicated Virtual Reality (VR) division and had appointed company executive Clay Bavor to run the unit.

In November 2015, Youtube also added Virtual Reality video support to the serivce’s Android app, inviting viewers to experience immersive, 360-degree content. Back then, YouTube also said that the new VR features ‘enable you to see and be seen in a whole new way’, with Android users able to watch VR content using their phone and a Google Cardboard headset or device holder.

The first time that YouTube added 360-degree video support to Google Cardboard was in May 2015. Two months earlier, the company announced that it had started to support 360-degree video uploads, allowing viewers to control the angle and point-of-view of supported video clips.

The biggest challenge faced by YouTube is stitching the video together while it’s streaming live, something the platform is reportedly creating software for as a way to support a variety of different cameras. A solution would be to develop stitching software that could accommodate feeds from a variety of cameras. This would require significant effort on Youtube’s part.

However, another possibility would be having some 360-degree cameras that are capable of stitching video themselves. Right now, Youtube disposes of a number of such cameras and others are headed to market later this year. There is a strong possibility that YouTube’s live 360 initiative could be limited to these devices alone, at least in the beginning.

Streaming live 360-degree video isn’t necessarily new; NextVR made headlines last October when it live streamed the opening game of the NBA season, something it hopes to do more of throughout the year.

All this sounds like good news for the biggest video platform in the world, who is expected to have a major breakout year, following the ‘fresh face’ it will adopt starting soon.

Image Source: virtualon.co.uk

No Interest in the Apple Watch for 69% of Americans

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Apple WatchApple invested a tremendous amount of time and money to develop the Apple Watch, which by many, has been slated as the most technically advanced device launched. However, according to a new poll conducted by Reuters, 69% of people in the United States have no interest in buying the Apple Watch.

This “wearable computer” is loaded with features to include the “Guests” application. With this, users can pull up information about hotel reservations and even use the device to open doors at many top hotels to include the Westin, Starwood, and Sheraton, among others. However, one of the top features is Apple Pay that makes it possible to make payments to virtually hundreds of thousands of stores.

Other key features of the Apple Watch include easy navigation, fitness and health tracking, actionable notifications, remote control functions, passbook integration, touch communications, and Siri, a voice controlled virtual assistant. Considering all the unique things that consumers can use the Apple Watch for and the relatively competitive price, it is somewhat surprising to learn that a large number of people have no interest.

The poll, which took place from March 9 through 13, involved 1,245 respondents. Each person was asked eight questions regarding their opinions about using a smartwatch in general and then more specifically the Apple Watch.

As to the question about interest in the Apple Watch, 47.5% said there was zero interest while another 22.1% of respondents indicated only slight interest. Another question posed related to how respondents felt about this latest technology. For that, 6% were not sure what to think while 25% showed some degree of interest.

Although 46% of respondents thought the Apple Watch possessed a “cool factor”, 40.6% felt differently and 13% were undecided. Of the respondents, only 29% said that compared to any other smartwatch available, they preferred to purchase the Apple Watch but 54.3% did not share that same opinion. In fact, out of 209 respondents 13% preferred an iPhone over an Apple Watch.

Also revealed in the poll was that 52% of respondents felt that all smartphones were merely a temporary fad while 43% believed at some point the smartwatch would be as common as the smartphone. Among respondents, 53.5% went as far as saying that someday, smartphones would actually be replaced by wearable devices.

Overall, the poll indicates that basic demand for the Apple Watch will be from people who currently use iPhones with the broader market not quite ready to appreciate this new technology.

For Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the results of the Reuters poll could pose a very serious challenge specific to marketing and promotion of the Apple Watch. If that many people are not interested in buying a watch loaded with new technology, Cook will need to come up with some very creative strategies to turn things around.

The Apple Watch will be available in a wide range of materials, colors, and embellishments. Based on the exact model, the price will start as low as $350 but for the Apple Watch Edition designed with an 18-gold case, the price jumps to $10,000 and higher.

Regardless of model, preorders of the Apple Watch start on April 10 with shipping to begin on the 24th. As part of the global launch, this wearable device will be available in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, and France.

Solar Battery Ready To Bang The Doors Of Technology

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The recent technology that has been introduced in the world of electronics is a battery that recharges and works on solar energy. The rechargeable battery that is the first of its kind is made by Ohio State researches. The working detail and the structure of the battery are mentioned in the journal Nature Communications.

The structure depicts a built in solar cell and the battery components. A mesh of solar panel made of titanium oxide crystals on a titanium base allows sun rays to enter the battery resulting in an exchange of electrons between the cell and the electrode of the battery. The system work like plants, the oxygen and light is captured and is then utilized to generate electricity for charging the battery. The crystals of the mesh work as capturers of energy while titanium base serves as a passage for air.

The whole internal system works on three electrodes and an iodide additive placed between the electrodes acts as an electrolyte. The crystals making up the first terminal, the second one being the porous carbon sheet under the titanium gauze and a lithium plate under carbon sheet serves as a third electrode. Oxygen that is absorbed from the atmosphere forms lithium peroxide reactant with the lithium plate however the electrons generated through solar cell breaks the compound into lithium atoms and oxygen. The latter acts as a by product and is released out.

The battery as the researchers’ claim is a combo of two technologies. Previously the combination provided less efficiency with only 80 percent of electrons reaching the target. However this time, approximately all of the electrons destined to charge the battery and produced by the solar cell are able to reach the targeted goal.

Yiying Wu, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State University told that the solar battery they have developed is the integration of two devices – a solar panel and a battery. The panel captures the energy while the battery stores it. He further laid his emphasis on the device cost effectiveness. He called his creation as a breathing battery telling that the battery takes in air at the time of discharge and exhales out when charging.

Wu also mentioned his previous experience with a doctoral student Xiaodi Ren of winning $100,000 prize from the U.S. Department of Energy. The reward was given on their joint invention; an invention of a battery powered by air. The machine’s working involved air expulsion as a result of reaction between potassium and oxygen.

Armenia Exposed Dozens Of Paleolithic Era’s Weapons Used 325k Years Ago

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Around 325,000 years ago, thousands of gizmos from the Paleolithic era recovered from a place in Armenia which allowed the researchers to gather data regarding how ancient developments developed and spread around the globe.

The team of researchers from all around the world, including a group Royal Holloway, University of London had basis to think that an ancient procedure named as ‘Levallois’ was used to create hunting weapons. These weapons were actually originated in Africa and transmitted to the other continents.

The researchers claimed that, they found the evidences at the place in Armenia capitulated weapons regarding this type of technology. Moreover, this technology was in fact previously part of these earliest Armenian groups, which flourished 325,000-335,000 years ago.

Particularly, in this region, the technique is known as ‘Bi-face’ which could be believed as somewhat similar to Levallois. These instruments were firstly analyzed by the researchers and told that the volcanic material was used in them, which was discovered in Nor Geghi in Kotayk Province, Armenia.

With the invention of these ancient instruments, the researchers would be able to get into the fresh and novel insights that ancient groups were believed to be more innovative. These groups have adapted two diverse technologies in order to create instruments which were essential for their hunting culture.

With the expansion of population around the globe, Levallois and biface techniques rapidly extended across Africa to Eurasia. After studying the tools in Armenia, the researchers found that ‘Bi-face’ techniques was actually developed separately and is not a derived from Levallois. Though, both techniques are somewhat similar to one another.

A mass of stone-shaped is used in both techniques in to hunting tools, which looks like sharp and thin flakes. Though, the major difference is that, with the help of Levallois technique, you can shape tools by prominent flakes from a prepared core evocative of lithic reduction. Alternatively, the Bi-face technique is basic. It will use two sides of stone in order to shape out flakes to make big tools like axes.

The study was published in the journal, Science.

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